Great Birth Story from Dad's Point of View

After a somewhat challenging first birth Laura and her Husband used Hypnobabies to prepare for their second baby. They birthed in the Netherlands.

We ordered the Hypnobabies home-study course (in some places you can receive instructor taught courses) and got started. Each week both Laura and I were responsible for reading and studying reading assignments that taught us the fundamentals of self-hypnosis, positive affirmation, natural childbirth and other related subjects. In addition to this, Laura needed to listen to a series of hypnosis audio tracks each day that helped her go into a state of self-hypnosis. The majority of the work was on her shoulders since she would need to be the one to put herself into hypnosis, though I was responsible for helping the process along with certain cues and keywords. Laura was more than diligent, and after 5-6 weeks we had completed the course.

Even after completing the course, though, I was uncertain of what to expect - how would things really happen, and would I be able to help Laura? I think that's what I feared the most after the first birth - not knowing if I could help her during the delivery, being a passive observer as she "walked through the valley of the shadow of death". Gratefully, Hypnobabies empowered me, despite my doubts and fears, to be an active participant in the birth gave me responsibility, which was exactly what I personally needed.

When we first arrived, Laura's contractions and the baby's heart rate were monitored. To our dismay, the midwife on shift said that Laura seemed too relaxed to be in true labour, but that she would check the cervix before drawing a conclusion about whether we should go home. I nearly laughed out loud when her eyebrows raised as she announced that Laura was 7 cm dilated, and there would be no going home! This was a huge morale booster, and a testimony builder of the effectiveness of Hypnobabies to that point.